Federal Courthouse Gets Senate Authorization : Appropriation: The Environment and Public Works Committee approves $123 million for a 348,000-square-foot facility in Santa Ana that will provide much-needed space for 15 judges.

Hoping to boost the local economy and accommodate an increase in court caseloads in Southern California, a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday authorized spending $123 million to build a new federal courthouse here.

The decision by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee effectively clears the way for construction, which was stalled last year when Vice President Al Gore’s plan to “reinvent government” called for an evaluation of all planned federal courthouses to see if they were necessary.

“The action will provide California with badly needed facilities to meet the rising tide of crime and the unfortunate consequences of the economy,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who sits on the public works committee. “An added benefit to the taxpayers will be from moving federal employees out of leased space.”

The new courthouse will be named after former President Ronald Reagan and located on four acres of donated city land near the Orange County Civic Center. The committee’s authorization was $20 million higher than the amount approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Ten judges for the district and bankruptcy courts, as well as their staffs, are now housed in the crowded Santa Ana Federal Building and a temporary structure on Santa Ana Boulevard.

The federal court is so small that many criminal and civil cases have to be sent to the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles at a substantial inconvenience to local attorneys and their clients.

The 348,000-square-foot building, which was initiated with the help of Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), will provide space for 14 courtrooms and 15 judges.

Boxer said the building will also provide office space allowing other federal agencies such as the U.S. attorney’s office to move out of leased facilities at a savings of about $1 million a year.

A groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for July 15.

Original plans for the new Santa Ana courthouse called for a $168-million facility, but the Clinton Administration’s efforts to streamline government pared $45 million off the final authorization.

Despite the funding reduction, the building is almost the same size as originally planned, except that it will have one less floor and fewer parking spaces and be less opulent than other federal courthouses already built.

Funding for the new courthouse had become a matter of contention between Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Cox, who has told supporters that he plans to seek Feinstein’s Senate seat this year. Cox helped initiate the new courthouse when he served on the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation.